Just got back from having a carvery Sunday lunch, and I'm stuffed! Think Mr. Creosote. I KNOW you can go back for seconds if you want, but I still heap my plate up like a Biafran at a Vegas buffet. 3 slices of Beef, 3 of turkey, roast spuds, new spuds, carrots, cabbage, red cabbage, ratatouille, chipolatas, stuffing, Yorkshire puds. No way I could even look at the sweet trolley. Going by the comments from the other tables nearby, I don't think I was the only one. So who else is a glutton for punishment? You wouldn't have that much at home, or would you?

 

Fill yer boots.
Belly-up all afternoon Great stuff!

 

The ham at our local carvery is fantastic, I don't bother with the Turkey and roast beef now, just loads of ham

 

The carvery near where I work is £3.50 on weekday lunchtimes. For a big cooked meal it's the same price as buying sandwiches.

 

I love all you can eat places i recently went to a chinese all you can eat place, but they cooked it to order it wasn't a buffet, the waiter came up asked us what we wanted for the starters and mains, there were about 8 of us and we just asked for a selection of everything on the menu his face dropped, we got a warning that anything we just leave will be charged at the a la carte menu price, we said no problem and to be fair the little fella didn't stop bringing us food all night, we didn't leave hardly anything and they received a big tip. It was a good night.

 

If only, had to go out visiting this afternoon, felt like I needed a wheel barrow for my stomach, and the hospital is so warm all I wanted to do was

Not even sure if we have an all you can eat Chinese here anymore, the one I used to go to closed

 

I have never understood why people will go out to dine and then stand and queue for their meal as if they are in some kind of soup kitchen?
True, I have eaten in these places myself once or twice and have seen some people getting a twinge of pleasure in watching the sweaty chef in his dirty whites giving them his "extra large portion" but for me, being sheparded into a queue and then eating food that's been standing under a hot lamp for hours doesn't float my boat
Next thing you know it will become fashionable to wash your own dishes in these places

 

mine neither

 

There a crackin one near me Gotta love em
Like you say ive never ever gone back for seconds, because i always pile that much on my plate first time round, its like dead lifting a whole cow back to the table
Have to admit, i always try and crack a joke with the chefs too so they give me bigger portions of meat works a treat too

I can sometimes manage to share a chocolate brownie sundae with the missus, depends how much a of fat nacker im feeling
Well sometimes, depends how much meat and spuds ive stuffed in my pie hole

 

tried a few, but the nicest one i ever went to was a "tobey carvery" down in reading (near winnersh triangle)

dammmmm

i actually had to unbutton my pants on the way home

figured the "unbranded" type pub ones would be better, so tried a few of them, but they always seam even more poor?

dont think a tobey carvery is up here in the north east either

 

There's one just off the A19 at Wolviston

 

Tobys Carvery is great: A mixture of good value and what appears to be at least good quality food.

Makes me hungry thinking about it!



Steve

 

I use to think like this but when the mrs left and I no longer had chefs to cook my meals it all became clear. I eat every meal out and this ends up costing alot of money a few weeks ago I was spending £200+ a week on eating. A meal in the carvery costs £3.50 it tastes like crap but at £3.50 what do you expect it is a bachelors soup kitchen and helps to keep the house clean.

 

Like me, dod you find it embarrassing when you have to keep picking up the bits that fall on the floor as you walk to your table.

Les

 

actually, just checked the website and i can see one 13 miles away from where i live, not quite the same as the one in Reading that i could walk back to the G/F`s place in 2 mins flat (10 mins if full of food)

not sure if i could handle the drive back home

 

We have one near work around £3 and takes the **** as you pay more than that for a maccy d's meal. Beef is dry but ham always nice. Toby better but a whole £2 more but their beef is a lot better. Never gonna be the best food in the world but for what you pay you really cant complain.

As for all you can eat chinky's - dont get me started. When I first came down to reading I went out with ex mrs and her mate and the bloke had 6 plates of mussels in black bean sauce just for starters. Never seen anything like it and thought I ate a lot lol.

Simon

 

Both the Toby Carvery and Pub Carvery chains are owned by the Mitchells & Butlers. The ingredients are the same and they are both supplied by Brakes Bros. The main difference is the price, Toby is around £5.50 during the week whereas Pub Carvery is only £3.50 for an almost identical meal.

Most of the veg is delivered fresh, but pre-prepped, with the exception of cauliflower cheese and peas which are delivered frozen.

I was an Ember manager (also M&B) but our sunday lunches were boil in the bag beef and re-heated frozen chicken crowns which weren't a patch on the meats that Toby/Pub Carvery serve.

 

When we go to Lundun, m8, innit, to visit the Dragon Bitch Queen from Hell (AKA Mother in Law) we go to a pub called "The Eagle" somewhere not far from Hackney, I think near Epping Forest???? Don't know if it's a chain, but the father in law always gets the end bits off the roast beef. The guys on the carvery laugh, as that's usually the bit's no-one wants as they're really well done. I usually try and get the crackling from the pork, which is a challenge, as they say they're not supposed to give it out "Health & Safety, you might break a tooth or choke on it m8, innit"

They do cracking red cabbage, and the father in law usually insists on paying bless him, so not only do I get a full gut, but it's free Last time we went, I overdosed on the brassicas, and the missus nearly expired on the M1 from sulphur dioxide poisoning

As for those that seem to think having a sweaty chef dishing up on the carvery is a bit unseemly, they should get a look at a real restaurant kitchen. Not exactly the same as those glistening celebrity chef jobbies you see a la Gordon Ramsey. Kitchens are hot, sweaty, busy places, as any chef will tell you.

 

No way the beef used at both is the same. Pub Carvery is always a smaller joint and overcooked. Toby always has far superior beef, bigger joint, cooked slightly pink and with a nice bit of crispy fat on it. That alone is worth the price diff imo

Simon

 

And why are you called Chunky again ?

Simon

 

Because I look like a Yorkie bar, brown and lumpy or is it because of my athletic build, all rippling, bulging muscles, maybe I wear a lot of sweaters, or am I just a lard ****?